Install newsraft with Homebrew, apk, MacPorts, Nix

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• newsraft

Project history

The Codeberg repository was created on March 29, 2022. Its changelog shows a young project moving quickly through 0.x releases, with packaging concerns called out repeatedly: dependency changes, macOS build notes, desktop metadata, removal of ncurses and yajl dependencies, and thanks to downstream package maintainers.

Adoption history

Newsraft is niche compared with Newsboat, but it has enough packaging interest to be present in Homebrew, Alpine, MacPorts, Nix, and other repositories tracked by package metadata. The adoption story is mostly among terminal/RSS users who want a simpler or fresher implementation rather than full Newsboat compatibility.

Homebrew analytics reported 5 installs in 30 days, 35 in 90 days, and 263 in 365 days for the formula when queried on July 1, 2026. Codeberg's API reported 198 stars and 24 forks when queried the same day, which fits a small but real enthusiast project.

How it is used

Newsraft users keep a feeds file and optional config, then browse sections, feeds, item lists, and article content in the terminal. The man page and README emphasize custom key bindings, opening links in external programs, SQL-like item rules for filtering noisy feeds, scripted feeds that run shell commands, and OPML conversion.

The practical package-nerd pitch is that it is lighter than Newsboat but still serious about feed formats and local state. Release notes around 0.30 and 0.31 are especially relevant for packagers because they removed yajl and ncurses as build dependencies and leaned more heavily on SQLite and a smaller dependency set.

Why package nerds care

Newsraft is best treated as an emerging alternative rather than established infrastructure. It is worth enriching because its config/data paths and executable behavior are distinct from Newsboat, but claims about broad adoption should stay modest.

Timeline

• 2022-03-29: Codeberg repository created.
• 2024: 0.26 release added a changelog and changed threading/download behavior.
• 2025: 0.30 and 0.31 removed yajl and ncurses dependencies, improving the packaging story.
• 2026-04-01: 0.36 release noted macOS build-instruction updates and other fixes.
• 2026-07-01: Homebrew formula version observed as 0.36, with 263 formula installs over the preceding 365-day analytics window.

Related projects

• Newsboat
• curl
• expat
• gumbo-parser
• SQLite

Sources

• https://codeberg.org/api/v1/repos/newsraft/newsraft
• https://codeberg.org/newsraft/newsraft
• https://codeberg.org/newsraft/newsraft/raw/branch/main/README.md
• https://codeberg.org/newsraft/newsraft/raw/branch/main/doc/changes.md
• https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula/newsraft.json
• https://newsraft.codeberg.page/